Ok, I won't lie. I've done more writing this week than in my entire life. The challenge response on Wednesday, the smutlet on Sunday, and cranking out a 14 page chapter everywhere in between. You bums owe me.
In fact, I can think of a perfect way for everyone who loves this story OH SO MUCH (as countless people have said in their reviews) to repay me ::wink wink:: Go put me up on the recommendations board. I've checked, and I'm not up there. It was a little disappointing, considering how many have reviewed and the quality of the reviews, but I won't let it get to me. I'd just like to know if people are doing it on purpose, or if no one has genuinely thought of it. Ok, I'm done with my begging for now. Go do my bidding!
Enjoy this chapter, yada yada yada, review when you're done (but don't make pointless drivel about it either).
And since I haven't said it in ages, I own not the rights to Harry Potter. 'Tis a shame. Maybe if I work my ass off in film school I can get directorial rights to the seventh HP movie....who knows.
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Chapter 17: Revelations
Christmas morning Harry woke up and slowly got out of bed, so as not to wake Hermione. Taking a quick shower, he dressed and went downstairs to find that only Fred was awake.
"Morning, Har," he said, looking in the cupboard for something. "Dobby's already made breakfast, it's on the table."
"Thanks," he replied, grabbing a plate and taking a seat.
"Oh, and take a look at the Prophet. It's in front of Ron's place, but you're here first, so you can read it."
"Why?" said Harry reaching across the table to grab the paper.
"You'll see," came the reply from Fred, who had shifted his search to the pantry.
WIZENGAMOT VOTE OVER, MINISTER OF MAGIC TO BE REPLACED
Yesterday, on the 24th of December, after ten months of arguments and hearings, the Wizengamot voted on a count of 46
to 4 that Cornelius Fudge be removed from his position as Minister of Magic.
"It's been a long time coming," said the head of the Magical Law Enforcement Department, Amelia Bones.
"Ever since the blunder with You-Know-Who's return , he's needed to go. The minister just hasn't been
doing his job of protecting the people."
Fudge has been under close observation ever since his large blunder of not admitting the return of
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named a two and a half years ago, and in February of this year, was brought to trial by the
Wizengamot for a breach of duty. His replacement has yet to be named, but the Wizengamot will have a vote on the matter
before the Easter Holiday. More on page 12.
"How come I haven't heard anything about this?" asked Harry, taking a sip from his pumpkin juice.
"They were keeping it low-key for a while," said Fred from the pantry, his red hair barely visible from the angle at which he was bending over to look at the items on the lower shelves. "George and I didn't even find out about it until the Order meeting just after you returned from the past."
"Find out about what?" asked Ron, floating into the kitchen.
"Read this," said Harry tossing the paper on the table in front of him.
"Talk about a Christmas present," he replied after scanning the headline. He sat down in his chair as best he could for being a ghost. "It's about time."
Harry was helping himself to eggs when Hermione and Ginny walked into the kitchen, both yawning.
'Hey, you,' Harry said silently with a grin. 'Happy Christmas.'
"You too," she replied audibly walking over to him, her bushy hair bouncing slightly with each step she took.
"You have got to stop doing that," Ron said. "If you're going to speak to yourselves, keep the entire conversation like that so I don't hear some random fragment of a talk and wondering what's bloody going on."
"Yes, sir," said Harry giving the ghost a salute.
"Sod off."
"So Fudge's been sacked?" asked Ginny, peering at the paper over Ron's shoulder.
"Yeah," said Fred taking a seat at the table. "Though they don't know who's going to replace him."
"Think it'll be Dumbledore?" asked Ron.
"No," said Hermione firmly, taking a seat next to Harry. "He's already said he wouldn't take the job if it was offered to him."
"When'd he say that?"
"About a week ago, when the voting began," she replied, putting some bacon on her plate.
"How come you never told me about this?" Harry asked, turning to face her.
"I thought you knew," she said with a shrug. At that instant, George chose to apparate into the kitchen with a loud bang.
"Bloody hell!" exclaimed Ron. "What was that for?"
"That, my brother, was my way of saying Happy Christmas to you all," he replied. "By the way, you look a little pale. Are you feeling okay?"
"Stop with the ghost jokes already," Ron said grumbling. "So are we getting presents?"
"As a matter of fact, yes," replied Fred, walking over to his twin. "Mum's always saying how we should wait until everyone's gathered at the tree, but since she and dad are visiting Charlie right now, I'd say that what she doesn't know won't hurt her." He tossed them each a small box; Ron's passed through him and landed on the chair.
"Don't worry, we put a box of chocolate frogs under the tree for all of you so the grown-ups won't get suspicious," George said as Harry, Hermione, and Ginny were opening their presents. "Ah, shall I get that for you, little bro?" Ron emitted a low growl as George walked over to him and opened the box, placing the small pouch inside it in front of him.
"Is this...?" Harry asked opening the pouch and looking inside.
"You bet!" said Fred with an enormous grin. "Granted Harry, you and Ron are supposed to have a pouch of it anyway since you're in the Order, so Ginny and Hermione benefit from it more, but we thought it'd make a good present all the same."
Inside each of the four pouches was the same dust that the twins had used to gain entrance into the Order.
"Does this mean that I get to have meals at Hogwarts?" asked Ron, his angered mood disappearing immediately.
"You bet," replied George. "But use it sparingly, okay? We can't be sending you a refill everytime you run out. I'd save it for the feasts if I were you." Ron nodded.
"Hold onto this for me, will you, Harry?" he asked. Harry nodded and pocketed Ron's pouch, along with his own.
"Guys, can I talk to you outside for a minute?" he asked, putting on a fake smile. Fred and George looked at each other cautiously for a second before nodding.
'Where are you going?' asked Hermione silently.
'To find out if this is really theirs,' Harry said as he exited the kitchen with the twins in his wake. He stopped once in the hall and closed the door to the kitchen once the twins had passed through it.
"What's all this about?" asked Fred, lines of concern spreading across his face.
"You're not turning into Mum and complaining, now are you?" George asked.
"No," replied Harry, and the looks of worry immediately disappeared from the twins faces. "I want you two to tell me the truth about where you got that dust." Now it was shock that was plastered on the faces of Fred and George.
"Er....." stammered George, looking at his shoes.
"My dad and Sirius had dust that works the same way yours does," Harry said. "Is it the same one?" George looked up from his shoes and at his brother, who was turning a slight shade of green. Combined with his hair, Harry thought it made him look like a badly colored Christmas decoration.
"Oh fine," said George, exasperated. "We found it in the same cabinet in Filch's office as the Marauder's Map. I take it that it was another invention of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs?"
"Of course," replied Harry with a smile. "They would've been proud."
"How so?" asked Fred, the green fading from his face slightly.
"You two used one of their inventions to get into the Order," Harry said with a shrug. "It helped aid in your mischief."
"Well, we don't call joining the Order exactly mischief," said George.
"What about lying to join the Order?" asked Harry with a smug grin, causing the twins to look around uneasily.
"Well we didn't exactly lie and tell them that we'd invented it," Fred said sheepishly. "We just said that it was ours and we were willing to share it with them if they'd let us in."
"Mmm hmm," said Harry crossing his arms. "Oh that reminds me, I want to show you something."
"What is it?" asked Fred as Harry started up the stairs that would take him to the third floor.
"Come with me, you'll see." Giving each other a curious glance, the twins followed Harry up to his room, where he immediately pulled the Marauder's Map out of his trunk and handed it to the twins.
"We've seen this many a time before," said George.
"Activate it," Harry said simply. Giving him a skeptical glance, Fred removed his wand from his robes and placed the tip on the parchment.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he intoned, watching as the map revealed itself. "So what are we looking for?"
"Read the introduction," Harry said nodding at the map. The twins both began to recite the passage from memory, but did a double take when they realised that wasn't what was written on the paper.
"Paws?" asked George, looking at Harry in awe. Without replying, Harry changed into a Sagin and gave the red-heads a playful growl.
"Whoa," whispered Fred as the over-sized lion sat down on it's hind quarters.
"Harry, you're bloody huge!" said George walking towards him. Harry growled at him before he could get too close, and the twin backed off immediately, fear etched into his facial features. Harry instantly turned back into his human self and broke into laughter.
"You should've seen your face!" he exclaimed, clutching his sides. He closed his eyes momentarily to wipe the tears of laughter away, but when he reopened them, his glee died away immediately.
Two identical Bengal Tigers were slowly advancing at him, licking their chops.
"Uhh....erm," said Harry backing against the wall. "Oh boy."
"Hey Harry are you in here?" Hermione asked knocking at the door. She opened it, and the tigers turned around to see who entered, which provided Harry with enough of a distraction to turn switch forms and pounce on one of them.
"All right, Harry, let him go," said George having turned back into his human form. Harry turned and looked at George, then at the tiger that was struggling under his weight. Giving a slight growl, he turned back into a human, followed shortly thereafter by Fred.
"No need to get violent," the twin said, getting up and brushing himself off.
"Oh and two tigers advancing on me, looking as if they hadn't had a meal in a week isn't violent?" asked Harry walking over to Hermione.
"So you two are animagi as well?" she asked, appraising them.
"Of course," said George. "The greatest pranksters since Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, and you honestly expect us to not be animagi?"
"You never brought it up before," Hermione said shrugging. "So it looks like we're all cats."
"We?" asked Fred. "You're an animagus too?"
"Naturally," she said. "Harry didn't tell you?"
"Must've slipped his mind," said George, as Harry blushed slightly.
"Well come on, my mum wants us all downstairs so we can open presents," Hermione said ushering the boys out of the room. "Honestly the way you three behave sometimes..."
The four of them walked downstairs into the sitting room where they, along with the help of some of the other members of the Order, had erected a giant tree for the holiday, along with other decorations covering nearly every inch of the room.
There were ten green and red stockings hanging above the fireplace (which currently held a roaring fire), one each for Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, the twins, Hermione's parents, Remus, and, at Hermione's insistance, Dobby.
Golden bubbles similar to the ones that Flitwick had used in their first year were hanging in long strands across the walls up near the ceiling. Wreaths adorned with silky red bows were hung here and there, and the chandelier was sparkling on the ceiling high above them, as though the lights emanating from the tips of the candles were sparkling diamonds, instead of simple fire. It all paled in comparison, though, to the great pine in the corner of the room.
The tree itself stood roughly ten feet high, Harry guessed. It was bedecked with golden tinsel, ornaments of every kind, little figurines of various wizarding people that kept shouting good tidings at random intervals, and a very elaborately sculpted silver star on the top.
Beneath the tree looked to be somewhere around a hundred gifts, all varying in size and shape. Situated in front of the presents were David and Emma, Ginny, Ron, and Tonks, who was amusing them all by making her nose, which was currently in the form of Rudolph's, blink on and off occasionally with a slight buzz each time it did so.
"Where's Remus?" asked Tonks looking up as the four of them walked over to the tree.
"He still isn't feeling too well," Hermione said as she sat down on the floor next to Ginny. "The full moon two nights ago really exhausted him."
"Oh well," said Tonks, her nose darkening slightly. "Make sure to get him his presents, okay?"
"You know I will," replied Harry. "Now, what have we got here?" He reached for a large parcel with his name on it, and was about to tear the paper off, when a voice behind him surprised everyone in the room.
"Going for the biggest presents right away, Harry?" Dumbledore asked with his usual twinkle.
"Professor...you startled me," said Harry, brushing his disheveled bangs out of his face.
"I'm sorry to have given all of you a start," the headmaster said, conjuring up a poofy armchair and sitting in it. "But I thought perhaps I might be able to join in on the festivities."
"Of course, sir," said David from his seat near the hearth.
"Albus, David, Albus," chided the headmaster. "Now, Harry, I believe you were going to open my present?" he asked with a smile. Harry turned back to the package and tore the paper off, only to find a silver basin.
"Professor...is that...?" asked Hermione, trailing off.
"It is indeed, Hermione," he answered.
"What am I to use it for?" Harry asked.
"Well, what with the discontinuation of your Occlumency over a year ago, I thought it might be prudent for you to have a pensieve, so that you may empty your mind of thoughts before you go to sleep," the headmaster said.
"Thanks," said Harry after some consideration. In truth, it wasn't the most exciting present he had ever received (his Firebolt was atop that list), but it definitely seemed to be the most thoughtful.
The next hour was spent unwrapping gifts, and even Dobby showed up for a few minutes to personally hand out his gifts to those present in the room. Dumbledore had just finished tucking away a pair of large woolen socks with hippogriffs on them (compliments of Harry), when a booming knock sounded at the front door.
"I wonder who that could be...?" said Fred getting up and walking out into the hall. A moment later his voice could be heard in the hall exclaiming, "Bloody hell, man, it's great to see you again!"
"Well it's wonderful teh be here again, thas' for sure," came the voice of the visitor. Harry turned and smiled at Hermione.
'Hagrid,' they both thought simultaneously. Sure enough, a minute later the Keeper of the Keys came through the doorway to the sitting room, fully clothed in a muggle Santa outfit.
"Happy Christmas to yeh," he said as Dumbledore conjured up a chair large enough for him to sit in. "I haven' seen yeh in ages, you lot."
"It's great to see you again Hagrid," said Harry getting up and giving his old friend a hug. "I would've come to visit, but there was the whole going-back-in-time issue."
"S'ok," he said, taking a seat in the oversized armchair, a loud 'thud' reverberating through the house as he did so. "Yeh got teh see yer mum an' dad, which is worth more than summat I could give yeh."
"They were pretty remarkable people," said Hermione standing up. "How've you been?"
"The same, mostly," he said. "Not sure whether I told you or not, but Grawp's finally got 'is English down. I've actually got him out in the forest takin' care o' Fluffy."
"So you do still have him, then?" asked Ron.
"Course!" said Hagrid with a proud smile. "One o' me best pets, 'side from Norbert." His eyes got a little teary at the mention of his former pet dragon, so they went back to opening presents, while Tonks and the twins got into a conversation on how to go about getting Hagrid's beard to tie itself into a bow.
"Who are Norbert and Grawp?" asked Hermione's mother.
"Long story," Hermione answered quickly.
"Hey Gin, this one's for you," said George handing her a present wrapped in pale green paper with a silver bow. "Hmm, no tag. Any ideas on who it's from?"
The look of terror in Ginny's eyes was immediate; comprehension dawned on Harry and Hermione a moment later.
"Uh, that's from me," Harry said, saying the first thing that came to his mind. "You can open it later, Gin, it's okay."
"No, go ahead and open it," Fred encouraged with an evil smile. "Let's ee what you got."
"Hey guys, how do you feel about house-elf rights?" said Hermione, resorting to drastic measures.
"Hermione, you're not still on about that are you?" Fred and George asked at the same time, providing enough time for Harry to whip out his wand and banish the present from Malfoy up to Ginny's room.
"Thanks," she whispered, not meeting his gaze.
"Well then what about the centaurs?" Hermione asked, having not realised that her task was already done.
"I don't think they want to associate with humans as it is," George said. "Honestly, Hermione, with the exception of goblins, most of the creatures are happy the way they are."
"Goblins are mistreated?!" shrieked Hermione, which in turn silenced all conversation in the room.
"Now look at what you've got her started on," groaned Ron. The rest of the room shared a collective chuckle at this, and shortly thereafter Emma suggested that they all put their presents away now that all of them had been opened. The assembled group agreed, and slowly began to make their way from the room, leaving Harry and Hermione alone by the tree after a minute. They stood up to leave the room, but just before they crossed the threshold into the hall, Harry looked up.
"Hey," he said, tugging on her sleeve gently. "Mistletoe." Hermione looked up, and sure enough there was a small branch of it hanging above the doorway.
"Hmmm..." she said thoughtfully. "I guess this means you have to kiss me now."
"I suppose," Harry said with a heavy sigh. "Don't try to impress me now, or anything." Hermione giggled slightly at this.
'I have plenty other ways of 'impressing' you, Mr. Potter,' she said silently with a slight purr. Abandoning all further reason, Harry pulled her close and immediately crushed his lips to hers.
'Think we'll be missed?' Harry asked in his mind.
'Maybe, but I know some charms so that they can't find us,' Hermione replied, smiling into his mouth.
It took them all of twenty seconds to run up to Harry's room and seal the door shut with the most powerful locking and silencing charms in existence.
Back downstairs everyone else had just retaken their respective seats in the room, when Hagrid spoke up.
"Where're Harry an' Hermione?" he asked, looking around. Realising that Harry and Hermione were, in fact, not there, the assembled group began to give each other looks of suspicion.
"I know where they are," said George with a wicked smile.
"Where?" asked Ginny. He pointed at a spot under the tree.
"Take a guess," he said pointing at the presents that Harry and Hermione had forgotten to take with them.
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The rest of the holidays passed in a blur, and soon Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny found themselves situated back on the Hogwarts Express, heading back for their next term of classes. Hermione had convinced Ron to take a quick walk with her to check on some of the first years so that Harry could inquire about the present from Malfoy.
"So what was it?" he asked anxiously.
"This," she said revealing a silver necklace she was wearing. "He has one too. He said that there's a protection charm on it, so if either of us is in danger, it emits a warning buzz. We can also talk through it."
"Have you checked to make sure it's not cursed or anything?" Harry asked. Ginny tucked the necklace back inside her collar and crossed her arms.
"Harry, you may not trust him, but I do," she said. "And that's what matters."
"You also trusted a diary in our second year," he countered. "I'm just trying to make sure that the same thing doesn't happen again. The last thing we need is the murder of Malfoy by Ron for hurting you."
"I appreciate the sentiment," Ginny said. "But he's not like that. He wouldn't hurt me."
"Alright, just -" but at that moment Ron floated through the door with Hermione on his heels. Harry changed his words midsentence. "Be - so how'd our matches go while Hermione and I were gone?" Though Ginny was in the process of answering his question, Harry distinctly heard Hermione laugh in her head.
'Nice save,' she thought with a chuckle.
'Thanks for the warning,' he replied with sarcasm, not paying attention to Ginny's answer.
'Sorry about that, but Ron was in the way and he caused some interference, I think.'
'No harm done,' said Harry with a wink. 'At least not yet...'
They arrived at the station, boarded the Thestral drawn carriages and rode up to the entrance of the castle. Harry and Ginny were the last one's out of the coach, and he whispered, "Tonight," into her ear before walking over to Ron and Hermione. Giving her a quick look back, she sighed and gave him a small nod.
'What was that all about?' asked Hermione silently as she and Harry made their way into the Great Hall, holding hands.
'We're going to have that conversation with Ron and Draco tonight, it's better to get it over with sooner than later,' Harry responded in his mind. Hermione nodded and they made their way to the Gryffindor table. After a brief welcome back announcement from Dumbledore, Harry leaned over to Ron.
"Hey mate, wanna come to the Room of Requirement with us at 7 tonight?" he said just loudly enough so that Ginny would hear him also.
"Why?" asked Ron skeptically.
"I want to show you something," he replied. Ron shrugged and nodded, before checking to make sure that no one was looking and whispered to Harry to throw a pinch of the dust on a plate of food. Smiling, Harry obliged and saw out of the corner of his eye, Ginny hunched over the table, talking at her chest.
=====
"You think they'll show?" asked Hermione while she and Harry were waiting for Ron, Ginny, and Draco to arrive.
"They better," Harry replied. "This needs to get done." The words were just out of Harry's mouth when the door opened and Ginny and Draco walked through.
Upon seeing Harry and Hermione there, Draco immediately made to turn and leave, but with a flick of her wand, Hermione had closed the door shut and sealed it with a locking charm not even Harry knew.
"You're not going anywhere," she said narrowing her eyes at him.
"What's going on, Ginny?" Draco asked.
"You didn't tell him, I take it?" Harry asked the youngest Weasley with a sigh.
"We're here to tell Ron about us, Draco," Ginny said, trying to lead him over to one of the chairs that the room had provided, but he pulled away.
"I don't want him to know," he said earnestly.
"It's for the best," said Harry from his chair.
"I didn't ask for your opinion, Potter," came the reply.
"Well it's either this, or Ron can walk in on you two and go tell the entire Weasley family," Hermione said. "And I don't think either of you would like that very much." Draco sighed in defeat and slumped into one of the armchairs, running his hand through his slicked-back hair.
Not a moment later Ron floated through the door to the room, and when he saw who was there, he stopped dead in mid-air.
"What are you doing here?" he spat at Malfoy.
"I told you this wasn't a good idea," Draco said rolling his eyes.
"Ron, sit down," Hermione said. "There's something that needs to be talked about." The ghost looked appraisingly at Harry and Hermione, then his gaze darted to Draco and Ginny in confusion. After a moment, realisation spread across his spectral face, and he visibly began to shake with anger.
"You..." he said in a deadly whisper at Draco. "I swear, I'm going to kill you if you've even touched -" but he didn't get to finish his sentence as Harry had asked the room to silence Ron and restrain him in one of the armchairs, which it did, to the surprise of Ginny, Draco, and Ron.
"Be quiet," he said. "This isn't a punishment session for Draco, Ron. This is so you know the truth and don't find out a different way." The ghost was still visibly angry, but the shaking had stopped, so Harry let the room allow Ron to speak again.
"There better be a damn good explanation for this," he said. Without hesitation, Ginny plunged into the story of how Draco had saved her on the Hogwarts Express back on the first day of term.
Ten minutes later, the story was over and 'angry Ron' had been replaced by 'scowling/contemplative Ron'.
"Well, Ron?" asked Hermione. "What's your take on all of this?" Sighing, he looked at Draco, then shifted his gaze to Ginny.
"I can't say I'm happy about it, because I'm not," he admitted. "You really trust this greaseball, Gin?" His sister protectively grabbed Draco's hand and squeezed it.
"With my life," she replied.
"Not a whole lot I can do to stop it then," Ron said with a frustrated groan. "And I won't tell Mum either." Ginny let out a breath she had been holding at this. "But I'll warn you, Malfoy. If you hurt her, you answer to me."
"And me," Harry added. Draco scowled at the both of them.
"Then I guess I have nothing to be worried about, seeing as I'm not going to hurt her," he replied with his infamous smirk.
"Good," said Ron. "Now I'm tired, can we get to bed?"
"Certainly," said Hermione standing up to leave, follow closely by Harry.
"Ugh, why can't I bloody move?!" shouted Ron from the chair, who was still being restrained by the room. Chuckling inwardly, Harry had the room release his friend, who promptly rocketed up into the air from trying to escape, getting a laugh from Draco.
"A little excited, aren't we?"
"Sod off, Malfoy."
Ginny and Draco parted at the entrance to the Room of Requirement, and the four Gryffindors made their way back up to the tower in relative silence. Ron instantly bade them goodnight when they entered the common room and floated up the stairs to the dorms.
"Don't worry about him," Harry said, seeing Ginny's skeptical look. "He'll come around. It'll just take some time."
"Thanks," she said with a small smile. "Well I'm feeling rather knackered myself. I think I'll head up to bed too."
"Sure thing," Hermione said. "See you in the morning." Ginny nodded as she walked off up the stairs to the girls' dorms, leaving Harry and Hermione standing there.
"Bed?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded.
"Forgive me, but I'm a little too tired to do anything but sleep tonight," she said with a slight frown.
'After how much we did that over holiday, I'm surprised that you haven't collapsed on me in exhaustion yet,' he replied silently with a smirk.
'Always so full of yourself,' she replied as they started to walk up to the Head Boy and Girl rooms. "See you in a minute," she whispered, entering the Head Girl's room and closing the door behind her.
A few minutes later they were snuggled up together in Harry's four-poster, the last few embers of the magical fire that had been present there glowing softly, casting the room in an orange glow. It didn't take long for either of them to fall asleep, smiles plastered on their faces, completely content on just being in each other's presence.
=====
It was dark. Harry couldn't see very far ahead of him, there was only the soft glow of a small fire in the room. The room he was in was fairly large, roughly the size of the library, but it was fairly drafty.
"This will do," Harry said in a hiss.
"My lord, what about the bleeding?" asked a small, cloaked figure beside Harry.
"It is of no concern," he replied. "Blood can be cleaned, or used for better things."
"Will you be present sire?" the cloaked man asked.
"No, I will be leaving this one to Lucius," Harry said. "I will be away taking care of business elsewhere, and you will be coming with me, Wormtail."
"Yes, m'lord." A faint scream echoed throughout the room shortly thereafter the man named Wormtail said this.
"Ah, and I see Lucius has arrived with our guests," Harry said with a delighted hiss. "Go fetch them and bring them in here." The man bowed as he backed out of the room and closed the door behind him. A minute later he returned with two young women; the shorter one seemed terrified, the taller looked as if she was summoning the courage to stand up to Harry, though he couldn't see their faces because of the dim light.
"Well I'm glad to see that Lucius isn't so incompetent that he couldn't bring you to me," he said.
"Not brave enough to do your own work anymore, you bloody coward?" asked the taller one in a scratchy voice; it was obvious she had been struck in the throat. Harry walked forward and slapped her across the face, but she held her gaze.
"No, no, no," Harry said. "You would do well to hold your tongue." The shorter woman started to cry at this. "Quiet, you pathetic slime."
"Don't you talk to her like that!" the first one shouted, earning her a backhand.
"Give them the potion, Wormtail," Harry said. The man produced a vial from his robes and forced the mouths of the women open with his wand, dumping half of it down each of their throats.
Coughing violently, the shorter one looked up at Harry.
"What was that?" she asked in a whimper.
"A little favorite of mine," he replied. "But unfortunately I'm not going to be able to stay and watch it's effects, as I have important business to attend to. But I shall enjoy personally desecrating your dead bodies once the potion has fully affected you." With that, Harry vanished from the room, and Wormtail locked the door behind the women, who started to sob in each other's arms.
Again Harry was in a dark room but this time he couldn't see anything. There was nothing but silence for a little while, and then -
"AAAHHHHHHH" a female voice screamed at the top of her lungs. Harry recognised it immediately as a scream of agony, similar to when the Cruciatus Curse was being used. The voice continued to scream and then a second one joined it a moment later, both of the voices clearly in excruciating pain. The cries of torture and pain slowly subsided until the scene changed and Harry was sitting on his broomstick, high above the a forest looking at a castle in the distance.
There were shouts coming from the castle as if a battle was being fought there, and occasional bursts of green and red light would shine through the windows. Suddenly there was a loud rumbling noise that came from inside the castle, and a white light began to emanate from the windows on one of the lower floors. A moment later there was a huge explosion, which blew the entire right side of the castle open, sending large chunks of stone soaring through the air. Harry was struggling to get back to the castle, but was being held back by some force.
"Let me go!" he shouted, trying to break free.
"HARRY!" shouted Hermione who was shaking him violently. "HARRY WAKE UP!"
Panting, Harry sat straight up in bed, a cold sweat running down his brow.
"What was it?" she asked. "Was it Voldemort?" Harry just sat there in shock, unable to comprehend what he had just seen. "Harry? Are you okay? What happened?"
Finally he managed to pull himself together enough to think of what was going on, and then jumped from the bed before uttering two words.
"Dumbledore. Now."
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Okay guys, I'm really sorry this is such a short chapter, only 5.5k words. Given that I wrote two other fics this
week, I'm pleased with the result, but I realise that only 14 pages for a chapter isn't that much. I'll try
to crank out a nice long one for next week, and until then, I hope this is enough to keep your hungers in check. Noka
cokp hakomntb choba (mind you, some of the letters aren't right, my computer doesn't have this language built
into the keyboard). I'll make a special mention of anyone who gets what that says in the next chapter. Until we
meet again!